The Average Cost to Patent an Invention
No entity that works professionally with the patent process publishes any average of the cost involved in patenting an invention. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office simply publishes a list of the office fees, while the magazine IP Watchdog publishes some ballpark numbers qualified with pages of discussion and the law firm Oppedahl Patent Law throws out a few numbers. Both IP Watchdog and Oppedahl Patent Law state that an invention's complexity greatly determines the cost of the patent process.
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Factors
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Attorneys working with Oppedahl Patent Law or writing for IP Watchdog refuse to estimate costs without knowing the details of a given invention. Attorney Gene Quinn, founder of IP Watchdog, states that the patent process involves far too many details and specifics for anyone to throw out an average that would be relevant to any single situation. Quinn states that the two most important factors in cost are the complexity of the invention and the attorney representing the inventor.
USPTO Fees
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The USPTO charges fees at every step of the patent process and these fees are the only fixed cost in the process. The USPTO charges a required $330 to file an application, $540 for a search, $220 for an examination, $1,510 to issue the patent if it passes the examination, plus $7,750 in maintenance fees over the 20 years that the patent is in force. Hence, the total to file and go through the process is $1,090, but the total to receive the patent and keep it in force is $10,350. Note that independent inventors and small businesses receive a 50 percent discount on fees but that the USPTO charges more for extra or late paperwork.
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Attorney Fees
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The USPTO, IP Watchdog and every patent law firm strongly recommends that inventors hire a patent agent or attorney to prepare the application. IP Watchdog reminds inventors that not only is the process confusing, but a patent is a legal document that uses the language found in the application and patents can only be protected in court, where every word in the document matters. IP Watchdog reports that the median cost of a patent attorney is around $250 an hour, higher in urban areas (Quinn suggests hiring an experienced attorney that works in an area with a low cost of living as a way to control costs, as opposed to hiring an inexperienced attorney). Quinn states that, depending on the complexity of the invention, attorney fees for conducting a search and preparing an application with drawings usually run between $7,000 and $15,000.
Invention Complexity
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Both IP Watchdog and Oppedahl Law Firm emphasize the importance of invention complexity in determining attorney's fees and therefore overall cost of patenting an invention. Quinn reports that relatively simple inventions (games, kitchen implements) cost between $7,000 and $9,000, while minimally complex inventions (simple electronics) cost around $10,000, moderate complexity (complex electronics) costs between $10,000 to $12,500 and very complex inventions start at around $15,000 in attorney's fees alone. The more complex an invention, the longer the attorney spends researching related patents, writing up a detailed description and outlining exactly what the patent should protect. Drawings also take longer the more complex the invention is, and USPTO rewrites can be more difficult.
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